Although I cant find a good link on this, its nice to know that the supreme court building is beginning to fall, earlier I read that pieces of the building had come loose and crashed to the ground, the pieces came from the statue of the figure of authority, whether it be by positive thinking on our part or some mysterious other force out there, I gladly welcome the outcome, and hope it keeps pouring on.

WASHINGTON, Nov. 28 (Xinhuanet) -- A large chunk of marble moulding fell from the facade over the entrance to the US Supreme Court in central Washington DC Monday morning, CNN reported.

The basketball-sized chunk landed on the steps near visitors waiting to enter the 70-year-old building.

No injury was reported, but a group of visitors had just entered the building underneath the frieze where the fallen marble chunk used to be.

Supreme Court staff said some of the marble pieces shattered, spraying the area with smaller chunks of stone.

Some visitors put the fragments into their pockets as souvenirs and one of them even joked about launching an auction on eBay.

The accident happened in the first day when the nine-member Supreme Court just went back to work after a two-week recess.

The 70-year-old US Supreme Court building is currently undergoing an expensive five-year renovation project which will probably cost 122 million US dollars, although there is no indication that the accident is in anyway related to the face-lifting. Enditem

WASHINGTON (AP) - A basketball-sized piece of marble moulding fell from the facade over the entrance to the Supreme Court Monday, landing on the steps near visitors waiting to enter the building. No one was hurt.

The chunk of Vermont marble was part of the dentil moulding that serves as a frame for nine sculptural figures completed in 1935. The piece that fell was over the figure of Authority, near the peak of the building's pediment, and to the right of the figure of Liberty, who has the scales of justice on her lap.

A group of visitors had just entered the building and had passed under the pediment when the stone fell at 9:30 a.m. EST.

Jonathan Fink, a government lawyer waiting in line to attend arguments, said, "All of a sudden, these blocks started falling. It was like a thud, thud."

Ed Fisher, a government worker, said some of the marble pieces shattered, spraying the terrace four floors below the pediment with smaller chunks of stone. A group of students from Columbus, Ohio, tried to pocket some of the fragments as souvenirs, Fisher said.

"A few of us attempted to. The police officers were like 'You have to put that back,' " said Sarah Rosenblum, 13, a member of the eighth grade class.

A short time later, workers loaded the roughly 40 pieces into plastic fruit crates and carried them away. Architects estimated a 30-centimetre by 25-centimetre piece broke off from the pediment, court spokeswoman Kathy Arberg said.

A structural engineer and photographer from the Architect of the Capitol's office planned to use a lift to inspect the pediment, Arberg said.

Officials with the Office of the Architect of the Capitol conducted a routine check of the pediment two years ago and found no indications of problems, spokeswoman Eva Malecki said.

The weight of the chunk was not immediately available.

Earlier in the morning, dozens of people had lined up in hopes of getting a seat for arguments inside the court, a practice that is not unusual. Justices were back on the bench Monday following a two-week recess.

The fallen marble lay directly in the centre of the path up to the court entrance.

The 70-year-old Supreme Court building is undergoing a $122 million US, five-year renovation project, although it is unclear whether the accident was related to that work. The project includes an underground two-storey police station.